The Alpha's Guard
by Rainwatch
Summary: Months have passed since the attack on the Adventure Base Camp, and the Alpha's Guard seems like a perfect paradise. But not everything lasts forever. A few well-timed Phantom attacks shatter the fragile peace over the Guard, and exposed secrets shatter the fragile peace between the five friends... (Sequel to the Alpha's Rescue) (Discontinued)
1. One - Eternal Snowymoon

The eight of us sat, crouched beneath the tall grass.

Handsome Rowdyfoot was as beautiful as his name suggested. He had a long, glossy black coat, gray flaming markings twisting around his fur, and a white chest. All of his precious clothes — the green bow, elf tail armor, fox hat, and phoenix amulet — were freshly repaired after the Battle of Sarepia, except for a chip in the amulet that he refused to mend because he thought it made him look more rugged. And his eyes… He had these blue-green eyes that I could lose myself in for hours.

Fang was a large tiger. His long front teeth, glistening in the sun, were his namesake, but the rest of him was almost as impressive. The orange fur and muddy brown stripes were criss-crossed with battle scars. Fang was a lieutenant, and he ruled over the third subsection of Sir Gilbert's Circle. His scars were proof of the toil it required.

Cloud was a light gray tiger with a white chest and paws. He was thin, light, and fast on his feet, fond of darting in to strike and darting back to dodge. He was in Fang's subsection, but I had heard he was a conniving, thieving liar. The only evidence of this was that the pretty purple gemstone, which Handsome said the color of my eyes, had disappeared one night and ended up in Cloud's pack.

Mountain Peak was another tiger, one of Fang's trusted followers. He had the same orange pelt and brown stripes, but the fresh, clean fur showed a comfortable life. He hadn't been in as many battles or saved as many lives as Fang had. For the most part, Mountain Peak was fine with being the planner. But Sir Gilbert himself had requested to see the tiger's strength in battle.

Fall Leaf was in Handsome's subsection. She was irritatingly pretty, covered in splotches of gray and brown and white. She loved to wear a full set of elf armor, but her helmet and tail armor were getting polished and she wanted to wear a sword for the mission, so the only piece of elven was her gauntlets. Handsome and Fall Leaf were led by their lieutenant, Howl, and their Alpha, Greely.

Juniper Bravebelle was a horse, and one of the four Jammers who joined forces with the Alpha's Guard in order to rescue me from Phantoms. She had taken off all of her adornments of flowers in leaves in order to move more freely, and her tan fur, chocolate mane, and orange stars were open for all to see. She fought under Sophia, who was a moony horse obsessed with flowers, shells, and jewels, but Juniper was as brave as any wolf or tiger.

Excluding myself, the last of us was Snickety Fastclaws. A purple hyena, he was the least fierce and strong out of the group. He was weak and slow in comparison, but Biff was cruel and wanted Snickety to join the mission anyways in order to prove himself. Snickety's purple DJ headset was usually turned off, but for all I knew, it was thrumming with music at the moment. He certainly seemed distracted.

And me. Eternal Snowymoon, one of the few known survivors of the Phantom's brutal attack. Handsome was the only Jammer that made it out of the Adventure Base Camp after the attack; a few animals were unconscious in the Camp; and then there was me. The only one who had made it out of the Phantom's prisons.

That alone was the only reason that I belonged there. Not my skill, not at all; I knew what the Phantom dungeons were like, and for that they were forced to bring me along.

Handsome had told me that I was amazing and strong and beautiful. But I was still shaky and slow after the Phantom's brutality. The opposite of amazing.

We gathered together outside the Phantom fortress, preparing to attack. Because of his rank, Fang was chosen to lead us, and Handsome was second-in-command. Fang had hand-picked Handsome because of how well he performed in rescuing me, and that was just what we were doing now. Rescuing other Jammers.

"Come on," Fang murmured, pointing with his tail to the twisted Phantom door. "Let's go."


	2. Two - Juniper Bravebelle

We snuck, single file, towards the door. The Phantom guard swiveled his single eye towards us, and I flinched. Would he see us? Was the mission over before it started?

Handsome snarled and pounced on the Phantom, knocking it unconscious. He nodded, and the rest of the patrol shuffled towards the door. I wondered what we would do without Handsome.

Fang pulled the door open, and the rest of us walked in. Handsome and Eternal, who had black fur, and Snickety, who had dark purple, went in the lead, trying to hide in the shadowy fortress. I watched them sneak through, and when Snickety signaled that the room was clear of Phantoms, we all strode forwards.

That method repeated several times throughout the various rooms in the fortress. After the Battle of Sarepia, there were significantly less Phantoms under the King's command, and there were fewer guards. But we didn't want to get caught off guard like we had the last time we visited the fortress. So the dark-furred animals went ahead to check if there were Phantoms.

At about the fourth room, Eternal saw six Phantoms. Before they noticed the three Jammers in the lead, Handsome struck two with his tail. The other four zapped at Juniper, who dodged and pounced on them. It wasn't long before all the Phantoms in the room were unconscious, and Snickety gave us the go-ahead to continue.

We snuck forward. The dungeons were just ahead, past a long, dark stairway. Snickety signaled that it was all clear, but I still felt my stomach lurch and my fur prick up as I walked up it. What if they had gotten something wrong? What if the Phantom King was waiting around the corner?

"Hurry up, Juniper," Fang hissed ahead of me.

I frowned and started up the stairs. Handsome, up at the very, very top, was the first to enter the dungeons. I could barely see him walk through the doorway, only the faint shine of his phoenix amulet and his glossy white chest, grayed by the darkness. After him went Snickety, an indigo shadow, and Eternal, her violet eyes wide open and fearful. A few moments later, Snickety crept back in.

"There's at least six trapped Jammers, maybe more," he explained, "and at least ten Phantoms per Jammer. We're lucky — the Phantom King is nowhere to be found. We may pull this off."

"Great," Fang replied. "Do you know what animals they have?"

"It's fairly dark," Snickety said, "but I think there's a raccoon, a lynx, a fox, an otter, a snow leopard, and… maybe a rhino? It's hard to tell."

"Eternal can try to rescue the lynx," Fang whispered. "You take the raccoon, Snickety. Handsome rescues the fox. Juniper"— I gulped —"you can go after the otter. Cloud and Mountain Peak, try to snow leopard. And you, Fall Leaf, take the rhino. Do you got it?"

"I nodded, then realized that it probably wasn't visible in the darkness. "Yes."

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked.

"I'll make sure the mission is successful," Fang said. "You all are brave and strong, but it's a little ridiculous for each animal to take on ten Phantoms each. I will help wherever I'm needed."

"Did you hear that?" Snickety whispered. "Handsome? Eternal?"

"Yes," Handsome called back. "Let's go."

I walked up and caught a hushed whisper under Snickety's breath — "Oh, I wish Rosy was here, then wouldn't be half as bad."

Oh. Oh no.

Ohhhhhh noooooo.

Snickety liked Rosy.


	3. Three - Handsome Rowdyfoot

I was a Guard member.

I could do this.

It was _ridiculous_ and _idiotic_ that I would ever _doubt myself_.

I gulped, trying to tip-toe past the crowd of Phantoms. Snickety had thought there were only sixty Phantoms, right? That's what he had said. So why did it look like two hundred eyes, glistening in the darkness, to me? Behind me, Eternal shivered.

"It's okay," I murmured to her. "I'm with you. You're safe. You can always back out if you want to — I wouldn't do this if I were you."

"But you would," she answered miserably. "You're so brave."

My cheeks warmed. "Not an ounce as brave as you are."

We shuffled down the hall. I caught sight of the trapped lynx and fox. There was a torch on the wall next to them, illuminating a few feet in every direction. It was easy to see that the torches nearby had burned out, and the fortress wasn't well maintained. Maybe the battle had scarred the Phantoms more than we thought.

I guided Eternal towards the torch. Together, we could fight twenty Phantoms… probably.

Careful not to step into the light just yet, I whacked two Phantoms with my claws. They shrieked and scattered around. Down the hall, I heard similar cries from other Phantoms. The Alpha's Guard had struck.

Quickly, the Phantoms realized we were there and turned on the offensive. Eternal and I fought together, chasing them off and knocking them unconscious until the path to the two trapped animals was clear. One Phantom dropped two glistening purple keys. I let Eternal open the locks and hatches on the lynx, while I dealt with the fox.

"Come here often?" I asked it, popping off the muzzle. The fox gazed at me with wide eyes.

"No," she gasped. "In fact, this is my first visit."

I laughed and unlocked the rest of her chains, using one of the Phantom Keys. The fox fell down from her cage once I finished, coughing and laying down limply. I helped her up and guided her forward.

"What about my r-rares?" she asked.

I paused. "What… what's your name, little one?"

"Lucky Loudbelly," she answered.

"Well, I'm a member of the Alpha's Guard," I told her. "I serve under Greely. I promise I'll try to get your rares back, no matter what. The Phantoms probably have them stored away somewhere."

Lucky nodded, shivering slightly. "I h-have two founder's hats, a magenta furry, three black longs, and a glitched ring. I own a l-lot more, but that's just what I-I had on m-me."

"You're pretty rare, Lucky," I told her. "How long have you been a Jammer?"

"I've lived in Jamaa since it was created," Lucky said, calming down a little. "That's why I have so many rares. I play a lot of mini games, and I buy every item that I think could be rare. And I trade a lot."

"I'm bad at rarity," I admitted. "Before I joined the Guard, my rarest items were a pair of nerd glasses and a Mira Statue. But I gave all that up to other Jammers."

Lucky squinted. "You look like… y-you… were you at the attack?"

"At the Adventure Base Camp?" I said. "Yeah. I'm Handsome Rowdyfoot."

She gaped, her open mouth illuminated by torchlight. "You… you're the only animal that got out! You survived the attack and crawled out into the Lost Temple of Zios! You're the reason that the Alphas knew what happened!"

"Yeah," I replied, "that's me."

"And you —" Lucky paused. "You helped rescue Eternal Snowymoon."

"Did you know her?" I asked. "Or, do you? She's here too, rescuing other Jammers."

"The Phantom King LOVED talking to her," Lucky murmured. "She had absolutely no idea what the Guard was, I heard, but you guys were searching for her!"

"We searched for all trapped Jammers," I replied.

"But her in particular," Lucky said. "That's what the King said. You were approaching the fortress, talking about Eternal."

That would've been me. Blabbing about Eternal.

"She went to the Battle of Sarepia," Lucky said. "She was braver than all of us, even the Guard member, Snowflake."

"Snowflake?" I asked.

"Snowflake Spiritartist," Lucky answered. "She used to be a Jammer. She's the snow leopard over there. I guess she was spying on the Base Camp, making sure there were no scammers or bullies lurking around, when the Phantoms attacked."

I got out. I escaped the Phantom's attack, and Eternal — brave, wise Eternal, who did Adventures for a living — and a Guard member didn't. I was either incredibly lucky or incredibly awesome.

"Eternal probably saved us during the battle," I informed Lucky. "Now let's get going. I bet the other Guard members have rescued the rest of the animals."

We continued down the path. Eternal walked up to us, the lynx in tow, and I could see Snickety and Juniper with their rescued Jammers. I smiled. We had done it. We had finished the mission that I had started months ago, when the Phantoms attacked.

And then suddenly, I froze.

His single eye gleaming with fury, his crown-shaped head shining in the torchlight, the Phantom King stopped us in our tracks.


	4. Four - Snowflake Spiritartist

My joints ached. My paws were sore. I couldn't think clearly.

But I knew one thing. I had been replaced.

I was kidnapped, like all of the Phantom's prisoners, when the Adventure Base Camp was attacked. But stupid Handsome Rowdyfoot was better than me because he had gotten out alive. And stupid Eternal Snowymoon was better than me because she was the only prisoner to escape. And all the other dumb old Jammers were better than me because they were heroes and they were awesome and they were, namely, not Snowflake Spiritartist.

I had been born to a family of snow leopards. My parents were usually too busy to care for me, and my brother didn't care about me. So I ran away. And I joined the Alphas Guard.

But nobody cared about my sob story. What animals cared about was how good I was at fighting.

Which was _awful and mean and cruel and dumb_ because, from what I had heard, they allowed a little bunny rabbit in who knew _absolutely nothing at all_ about _anything_ and they allowed Eternal in even though her _only experience_ came from _playing stupid Adventures_ and _getting kidnapped_ and _argh._

Eternal couldn't even handle the prisons. As we walked down the hall, I saw her shaking like crazy. But Fang comforted her! _Fang comforted her_! Where was _my_ sympathetic pat? I was the one with no family! I was the one who needed a sympathetic pat! Not the coward, Eternal!

Call me jealous. But she _was_ a coward, and for some reason everyone _loved_ her.

"What are we going to do?" Eternal whispered, looking up at the monstrous Phantom King. "Do you know how powerful he is? He can stroke your fur once and get any information he wants. He can knock you unconscious with one blow of his tentacle."

Like I didn't know that. I was a _Guard member_ and Eternal was a _faker_ who shouldn't even exist.

"Did you really think you could rescue your silly little Jammers?" the King laughed. "I'm far too powerful for this to go unnoticed. Now, if you will, give me my prisoners back and scurry along. I might just spare your lives."

Fang roared and slammed into him. Beside him, Handsome clawed his side and growled threateningly. Looking as if the two of them were mere toys in a cub's game, the King flicked them off. I growled and bounded forward, but Mountain Peak and Cloud blocked my way.

Which was _unfair_ because _I deserved my chance to be in the spotlight_ And obviously Handsome and Fang had _failed_ at theirs.

The King laughed a wicked laugh. "Come on, young Jammers. I know your secret, wolf."

Wait, Handsome had a secret? Okay, now things were getting interesting.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Handsome replied, getting up and charging again. The Phantom King batted him away, and Fall Leaf rushed over to make sure he was okay.

"We can't fight him! Handsome, no!" Fang exclaimed. "We need to get out of here!"

The King, who seemed to notice that his beautiful prisoners were about to leave, swatted Juniper and Fall Leaf. The two tigers, Mountain Peak and Cloud, shoved past me towards the stairway. I growled and followed them.

"If you want to live, come on!" I snarled. Eternal bounded towards me.

We all rushed down the stairs. The King captured the five formerly trapped Jammers, as they were slow and inexperienced, but he wasn't able to catch anyone else. Fang was careful and made sure all of the Guard members were safe. It was only his second priority to care for the Jammers.

Soon, we all tumbled out of the door and onto the tall grass. Shaking and shivering — she was a wimp, after all — Eternal murmured, "We've failed."


	5. Five - Fang

"What do you mean, you only rescued one Jammer?!"

"I mean what I said," I murmured, hanging my head in shame. "There were six. We managed to get all of them rounded up, but the Phantom King attacked. We were lucky to escape with our lives — and Snowflake's."

"I understand your job is difficult, Fang," Sir Gilbert snorted. "I understand that you're tired and you've been through a lot of struggles. But, Fang, don't you understand that I cannot excuse your behavior forever?"

"I understand," I said, frowning. "I'm really sorry."

"I expect better from you in the future," Sir Gilbert said. "Much, much better."

I had failed.

The reality of that sunk in. It wasn't like I had faced impossible odds, no. Eight members of the Alpha's Guard — nine if you included Snowflake — against one Phantom King? We could've pulled through. We could've rescued those stupid Jammers. We failed. I failed. I was an awful furball who didn't deserve to be lieutenant.

I buried my snout into my paws, trying not to think about the awful truth.

"Fang," said a voice behind me. "It's okay. Shh, don't worry about it."

Mountain Peak settled down beside me, his eyes piercing. "No matter what you say, this is NOT your fault."

"It is," I replied.

"It's okay," Mountain Peak murmured softly. "There's no reason to worry. You won't be demoted. You earned your position as lieutenant, and I'm very proud to work with you."

"Don't lie," I answered through gritted teeth.

"It's not a lie!" Mountain Peak said. "You're not a failure, Fang."

He settled beside me, his tail twining with mine. Mountain Peak always tried to comfort me, but it just made me feel more even worse. What baby needed a cub like Mountain Peak to comfort him? Me, that's what. I was a failure.

I sighed and buried my nose further into my paws, refusing to listen to anything except for the wind sighing between trees, and water rippling from the pool in Sir Gilbert's cave.


	6. Six - Rosy Cottoncloud

"How'd the mission go?"

I sat in my cave. There were three roommates that lived in the cave with me — Spider, Pinkie, and Lantana — but they were off receiving new orders from Peck. Juniper had come over in their absence to chat.

"Good," the horse said to answer my question, but she wouldn't meet my gaze.

"So you only rescued one Jammer?" I asked. "Why was that?"

"Phantoms will be Phantoms," Juniper said. I looked her in the eye, and she ducked her head.

"I heard the Jammer's name," I said quietly. "Snowflake Spiritartist, isn't it? She was the last animal to join the Guard before we did."

"Mm," Juniper nodded.

"Are you even listening?" I asked. Juniper frowned and stared at the wall. There was a shimmer of worry in her eyes, but I couldn't place where it came from. Did she not believe the Guard could protect Jamaa? Did she think we would fail?

"What happened?!" I demanded.

As if frustrated, she looked up at me and snorted. "It's nothing."

I grumbled under my breath. "If you're not going to talk to me, you can just leave!"

Juniper's eyes flashed, and she retorted, "Maybe I will!" And just like that, she stomped out of the cave.

Except for the drip of water from the leaking sink, it was silent.

I laid in my nest and thought about Juniper. What was it that could trouble her so much? She always faced her challenges instead of hiding from them, and I was afraid something was wrong.

It took me a while to drift off to sleep, and when I did, I had a dream:

 _The purple hyena's paws shuffled against the earthy path as he stepped towards Jam Mart Clothing. But something stopped him. He frowned, glanced over through the crowd, and met my eyes._

 _"Excuuuuuuuuuuuuse me," the hyena sang, plopping down in front of me. "Little miss beggar, is that you? Finding a spot next to the bulletin board and hoping someone'll give you a gem?"_

 _"Yeah, I guess that's all I am. A beggar," I answered. And then I thought of Juniper. "But one day I might take up racing."_

 _"With the horses?" he laughed. "Listen, I have a proposition for you. But you have to follow me."_

 _A proposition? I got up, grabbing my orange cup. "Alright. What's your name?"_

 _"Snickety Fastclaws," he told me. "And you?"_

 _"Rosy Cottoncloud."_

 _"A perfect name for such a sweet little bunny," Snickety said. "Listen, do you know what I do for a living?"_

 _I paused. "I saw you stealing from a polar bear."_

 _"And it pays handsomely," he informed me angrily. "Now, if you want to be as rich as a guy like me, you can be my… er… assistant. Scout out rare-looking people for me."_

 _"I don't want to be a scammer," I said, and it came out closer to squeaking than I hoped._

 _"And you don't have to," he squeaked back, mocking me. "You just look for rare Jammers, and I'll do the rest. You'll get 200 gems a day."_

 _"200?" I gasped. I had a vision of a glorious heap of gems. I would have a real den, with real items._

 _"That can buy a lot of carrots, Rosy," the hyena laughed. "200 gems!"_

 _I looked him dead in the eye, trying to hide my fear. "I'll do it."_

When I woke up, dawn light was filtering through the cave entrance. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and climbed out of my nest. I saw the sleeping shapes of Spider, Pinkie, and Lantana.

Snickety.

Brave, tall Juniper was worried about Snickety.


	7. Seven - Snickety Fastclaws

Shouting was coming from Rosy's cave.

"I'm telling you, he said that!" came Juniper's screech.

"That's ridiculous!" Rosy shot back.

"He likes you!" screamed Juniper. "Don't you see what this means? A lying, cheating, scamming _hyena_ likes you!"

I froze in place.

"I _thought_ you two were on track for being friends!" Rosy retorted. "So now all of a sudden he's lying and cheating and scamming? Juniper, he's not a scammer!"

Slowly, steadily, I crept into the den, getting a good luck at the two of them. They didn't see me.

"He was!" Juniper said. "How do you know he still isn't?"

Rosy stomped away, looking upset. "Juniper… I thought you trusted him."

"As a friend!" she said, but softer, as if she noticed Rosy's hurt expression. "Rosy, I trust him as a _friend_. But he can't like you, not in that way. I don't trust him that much!"

There was a sudden silence. Rosy sniffled, got up, and laid her eyes directly onto me.

"Yah!" she yelped. "Snickety! How long have you been in here?"

"Not long," I said quickly. "I heard you arguing, and I went to investigate."

Juniper looked dismayed. "How much did you hear?"

"I started listening a few minutes ago," I explained. "I heard you telling Rosy… that I said something."

Juniper's eyes were balls of fire. "You're darn right, you said something! While we were at the fortress, I heard you say, 'Oh, I wish Rosy was here, then wouldn't be half as bad!'" Her voice went high and cold, mocking my squeaky hyena way of pronouncing things.

Did I like Rosy? As more than a friend? I had never thought of her that way.

"Rosy's just a friend," I said.

"You don't care about a _friend_ that much," Juniper hissed. "You care about a _girlfriend_ that much."

"Juniper," I said, "why does it matter? I'm her friend. I want to stay her friend. It doesn't change anything about your life."

"It changes my life because you _like her_!" Juniper said, indignantly stamping her hoof.

"Juniper…" Rosy said warningly.

Juniper sniffed loudly and then clomped off out the door, leaving me and Rosy alone. She gave me a skeptical look.

"Snickety… you don't _really_ like me, do you?" she said. "Not in that way? We're just friends, that's all."

"Of course we're just friends," I promised. "I don't like you in that way."

Did I really think that?

I remembered all of those times I wished Rosy were there, worried about her, thought about her bright face. I remembered every smile I had ever smiled around her and every laugh I had laughed.

Did I like Rosy?

It seemed like it.


	8. Eight - Handsome Rowdyfoot

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

I repeated that, over and over and over again, until my head ached and I was too exhausted to think clearly. No. No. No. No. No.

I had done the unthinkable. The awful. The biggest betrayal I could do.

I liked Fall Leaf.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Eternal was the one and only, my valentine, everything precious in the world. I loved Eternal. I needed her. And she needed me back, so everything was perfect and beautiful.

No. No. No. No. I didn't like Fall Leaf. I couldn't. It was impossible to think of such a rotten spot on my relationship with Eternal.

The memory kept on flashing back. The Phantom King had struck me, and I stumbled backwards. Fall Leaf had rushed over towards me, her gray, brown, and white fur glistening in the torchlight. I had wanted to bury my head in her luscious coat, to stay with her until the end of time.

No. No. No. No. No. I loved Eternal. Fall Leaf was nothing. No. No. No.

How could I choose between them? Eternal was mine, forever. We were together and we loved each other, and that was that. I had to just suck it up and ignore whatever feelings I had for Fall Leaf.

But I couldn't. I couldn't leave the rich eyes looking down on me, the soft coat, the smooth, strong voice like crisp apples and golden leaves. She was, however awfully and wrongly and why didn't I just like Eternal like a good little boy, important to me.

Nooooooo. No. No. How could I choose?

« It's easy, really. »

I froze.

The voice was like another mind, foreign and unfamiliar. I reached out and felt the mind with my own. It was a separate entity that had somehow connected with my thoughts.

« Who are you?! » I asked the voice.

« Whoa, » it replied. « Warm welcome, huh? I'm not here to hurt you, Handsome Rowdyfoot. »

« You know my name! » I exclaimed.

« Course I do, » the voice laughed. « And your backstory, your personality, your memories, relationships, thoughts… Pretty much everything about you. »

I pushed back with as much outward force as I could muster, digging deep into the alien mind. I could only manage to catch a name before the mind backed away: Caesar. So it must've been a Guard member.

« Determined little one, » Caesar laughed. « Nobody's ever done THAT before. Of course, you're the only one I've ever tried this on. Hmm… do that again. I want to see how much you can learn about me. »

Aware that the creature was playing with me, I tried again. This time I got an image: a massive gray wolf, his chest and muzzle silvered with age and wisdom shining in his amber eyes. He looked as if he was as old as the Alphas themselves, but I shook off that thought. That was impossible.

I dug as deep as I could get, but Caesar didn't seem to want to let out anything that he wasn't already projecting towards me. I growled.

« This is quite amusing, » Caesar said. « Well, enough of that. You want to choose between Fall Leaf and Eternal Snowymoon? It's not as hard as you think. »

« I don't want any answers from you, » I told him. « Go away. I can solve this without you. »

« Oh, but I've had years of experience. In fact, I'm millennia old. »

Could he really be that old? As old as the Alphas? « Don't joke. »

« I'm serious. » He flashed an image of a forest that resembled Sarepia, except there were no buildings or slides. In it, Mira was by the fire pit, but it wasn't her spirit dancing out of it. It was a solid image. Mira craned her neck and stepped out of the picture.

I had to admit, I was seriously confused.

« I wasn't so indecisive when I had to chose, » Caesar said. « I picked Pandora, no question. I might've liked Aurora, but she was a tiger, and I'm a wolf. »

The names were so unusual and old. Pandora and Aurora were only whispered about in the oldest legends, and I'd never heard the name Caesar anywhere.

« That's because it was kind of erased from time itself, » Caesar replied. « It's a little sad if you think about it. I spent my entire puppyhood fighting Phantoms. I took down the First Phantom King, Silver Tongue. And after that, when I was too weak to continue fighting? Sir Gilbert decided that it was too dangerous for anyone to know about me, and he made sure no one ever spoke my name again. »

« Why would he do that? » I asked. « You didn't do anything wrong, did you, Caesar? »

« Absolutely nothing, » Caesar scoffed. « Gilbert worries too much. No, the Alphas decided that I was so weak after defeating Silver Tongue that I couldn't protect them, and it was dangerous for the Phantoms to know that I existed. Or something. Pandora and Aurora's names weren't forgotten by time, though; they were quite popular for a few centuries. »

It was a little hard to comprehend the word centuries and associate it with this Caesar character's lifespan.

« Why have you lived so long? » I asked.

« Ha, funny story, » Caesar said. « I have a lot of answers to your questions, Handsome Rowdyfoot. I can tell you everything you want to know, but you must do something for me. »

« Everything? » I said in disbelief.

« When you've lived for thousands of years, nothing's a secret, » Caesar said, amused. « If you want to speak with me, find Sir Gilbert and tell him that the time has come and Caesar is awake. Be as cryptic as you like, just make sure the message comes across. And tell him that Caesar is tired of hiding. »

I yelped, feeling Caesar's mind slip away from mine. « Wait! Don't leave! » I called, but he ignored me. I could only barely feel his presence; I certainly wouldn't have noticed it if I didn't know Caesar existed.

Slowly, I managed to comprehend what I had just heard.

One, I liked Fall Leaf, however much to my dismay. Two, a possibly evil, possibly good stranger named Caesar who claimed to be millennia old had somehow linked his mind to mine. Three, he believed I should choose Fall Leaf because she was a wolf. Four, he could tell me "everything I wanted to know". And five, he wanted me to tell Sir Gilbert about him.

What could I do? Go after Sir Gilbert? Find Eternal or Fall Leaf? Go searching for Caesar on my own? Or ignore the entire episode?

Frowning, I made my way to Sir Gilbert's camp, feeling my heart beat in anticipation.


End file.
